ITER Physics programme

EUROfusion’s ITER Physics programme is designed to coordinate experiments to gather as much physics knowledge as possible to ensure the efficient experimentation in ITER once it begins operations. Below are the main research topics tackled under the ITER Physics programme.

JET Exploitation

Research on JET is carried out under the following themes: JET Experimental Campaigns, Investigation of Plasma-Facing Components for ITER, Technological Exploitation of Deuterium-Tritium Operation for the ITER preparation, and JET Enhancements.

Medium-Size Tokamak Campaigns

Experiments on medium-size tokamaks, namely ASDEX Upgrade, TCV and MAST Upgrade, complement the work at JET. They have unique experimental capabilities and flexibility and provide what is known as a step-ladder approach for extrapolations to ITER and DEMO.

Divertor Test Tokamak

The divertor is an area of a fusion reactor, where impurities from the reaction are removed. EUROfusion assesses if a dedicated divertor tokamak test facility is necessary or if tests on specifically upgraded existing facilities will give sufficient clues to ITER and DEMO divertor requirements.

Stellarator Research

The stellarator is a possible long-term alternative to a tokamak fusion power plant. EUROfusion researchers explore Wendelstein 7-X to assess if the concept can reach the maturity required to be a possible design for a future fusion power plant.

Theory & Advanced Simulation

The vision for the EUROfusion Theory and Advanced Simulation Coordination (E-TASC) is to integrate the world-class fusion science and engineering with emerging advanced computing capability. To this end, the ITER Physics group will work on developing a coherent programme of theory, simulation, verification, and validation – covering plasma physics, materials science, and innovative approaches to engineering design. A key goal in this context will be to produce a high-quality suite of "EUROfusion-standard" software to interpret data from ITER and associated facilities, and reliably extrapolate to inform DEMO design.

JT-60SA Exploitation

JT-60SA, a super advanced tokamak currently being built by Europe and Japan, has started operation in 2019. JT-60SA aims to qualify steady state plasma regimes of operation for ITER.

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Acknowledgement

This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 and 2019-2020 under grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.